As expected, the Bersih organising committee will meet with the King before making any decision on the July 9 rally.
Organising chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan said the coalition of 62 of the country's top NGOs will submit a request for an audience before the end of the day.
"We want to communicate our decision to His Majesty and then we will announce," the former Bar Council president told a press conference.
“Bersih 2.0 offers its deep appreciation to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for his support on the people’s aspiration to reform the election system. Bersih 2.0 will abide by his majesty’s advice to hold a dialogue towards achieving a consensus on electoral reform and the development of democracy in Malaysia."
She also revealed that former premier Abdullah Badawi had requested to see her this morning in regards to the matter. However, she declined to give details on their meeting although it is likely to be on the 8 electoral demands that Bersih is seeking from the Najib administration.
Ready to cancel
According to Ambiga, who has come under tremendous pressure including a death threat, the Bersih committee had already met last night after the King issued a surprise statement. They had come to a decision and were waiting for the royal green light before announcing.
She also said Bersih would cancel the rally if the King demanded it did so.All eyes are now on whether the King will see her. If he refuses to grant her an audience, Ambiga said the the committee would make its decision "at that stage."
The King had a day ago ordered Prime Minister Najib Razak to re-start talks with Bersih after the police shut the door on negotiations with Bersih officials, who had wanted to co-ordinate traffic and crowd control matters with the authorities.
Bersih had also offered to use whatever route the police suggested, inviting Najib and BN to join the non-partisan rally.
Royal rescue
Meanwhile, Najib who has been accused of manipulating the Palace said the government would agree to allow Bersih to be held in a stadium. He was slammed for not heeding or respecting the King, issuing an ultimatum to Bersih rather discuss as he was directed to.
The 58-year Najib has drawn enormous flak over the way he has handled the issue, necessitating a Royal rescue plus the diplomatic efforts of Badawi.
“He (Badawi) requested, through a mutual friend, to see me today to see how we can resolve the impasse. It was a timely intervention,” said Ambiga.
- Malaysia Chronicle
No comments:
Post a Comment